Easy breath pillow covering

ABSTRACT

A therapeutic sleep aid comprises a pillow covering made of fabric infused with a concentration of one or more specially formulated medications set to release inhalant vapors to a user gradually over time to promote safe sleep and relieve respiratory ailments and breathing difficulties that otherwise inhibit restful sleep. Made in a substantially rectangular configuration conforming to the shape of a standard sleeping pillow, the pillow covering is sized to fit about and across the pillow surfaces with openings at one or both ends for placement upon the pillow and is preferably intended for use beneath a standard pillow case. Release of the inhalant vapors may be activated by exposure to normal ambient conditions at the time of placement of the pillow covering or through a physical manipulation by the user.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation-in-part of provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/575,152 filed Aug. 15, 2011 for Easy Breath Pillow Covering.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to therapeutic sleep aids and, more particularly, to an improved pillow covering infused with a concentration of one or more specially formulated medications set to release inhalant vapors to a user gradually over time to promote safe sleep and relieve respiratory ailments and breathing difficulties that otherwise inhibit restful sleep.

Uninterrupted sleep on a daily basis is essential for people to enjoy a productive and happy life. A well rested individual is energized and ready to face the challenges of the day ahead. However, this simple goal of uninterrupted sleep is impeded and made problematic when the subject is a person afflicted with temporary or recurring ailments, maladies that lead to discomfort and restlessness, or other adverse medical conditions, such as sleep apnea and acid reflux that keep a substantial portion of our population tossing and turning throughout the night. Respiratory ailments that result from cold, flu and seasonal allergies can particularly lead to many hours of lost sleep. In addition to the discomfort and restlessness caused to those afflicted, a common protocol recommended to alleviate the symptoms is proper elevation and positioning of the head. Unfortunately for many, trying to sleep with one's head propped up in such a manner proves just as discomforting to restful slumber as the ailment itself.

Therapeutic sleep aids are well known and are commercially available in a wide variety of product forms including those medicinal in nature as well as an assortment of devices that generate lights and/or sounds designed to soothe and relax the individual seeking restful sleep. While many of these products have been used effectively to ease anxieties and relax the subject in preparation for sleep, they have not completely dealt with and relieved the respiratory problems that continue to persist once sleep is induced. Aromatherapy products of the type that involve diffusion of certain essential oils as inhalable medicaments are well known and some have been promoted and used as sleep aids. Most of these aromatherapy products of the inhalant type are designed to diffuse the medicament oils broadly into a spatial area or room and thus can be widely variant in their delivery of the inhalants to individual subjects in the room and thus become widely variant in their medicament effect. Other aromatherapy products have been designed and developed for a more targeted delivery of the aromatic substance with patches, pouches or liners that are designed to contain the diffusible aromatic material and made attachable to clothing or a fabric material worn by an individual for a more proximate delivery of the inhalable to the individual's olfactory system. Examples of these more targeted prior art aromatherapy delivery products are found shown and described in U.S. Patent Pub. No. 2005/0199741 to Thomson; U.S. Patent Pub. No. 2007/0055216 to Rashid; U.S. Pat. No. 7,427,417 to Jendrucko et al.; and U.S. Design Pat. No. D595,524 to Sammons, the latter design being described as a Scented Pillow Liner recognized to be a pad-like member or pouch having an adhesive-backed side that can be inserted within a pillow case and attached to a pillow for sleeping. While such an attachable scented pillow liner or other like scented insert simply placed between the pillow and an associated pillow case can effectively target the delivery of an aromatic medicament to an individual desiring restful sleep, they can be uncomfortable members to lay one's head upon, even though beneath a pillow case, because of the head's sensitivity to surface positioning while getting to sleep and staying asleep. Therefore, a need exists for an improved therapeutic sleep aid for delivering an aromatic medication as an inhalant in immediate proximity to an individual seeking restful sleep, particularly one affected by respiratory ailments, and doing so in a most comfortable manner without disturbing the individual and the normal feel or placement of his head while sleeping.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is a general purpose and object of the present invention to provide an improved therapeutic sleep aid for use by an individual to promote comfortable and uninterrupted sleep.

A more particular object of the present invention is to provide an improved therapeutic sleep aid that promotes safe sleep and relieves common respiratory ailments and breathing difficulties like those associated with colds, flu and seasonal allergies that otherwise inhibit restful sleep in both children and adults.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved therapeutic sleep aid that affords optimal comfort and soothing relief from common respiratory ailments that normally interrupt sleep.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an improved therapeutic sleep aid that is safe and effective for use by both children and adults.

Additional objects of the present invention are to provide an improved therapeutic sleep aid that is economical to manufacture, one that is reliable and comfortable in its performance, and equally safe and easy to use in homes, hospitals and other medical facilities.

Briefly, these and other objects of the present invention are accomplished by an improved pillow covering made of fabric infused with a concentration of one or more specially formulated medications set to release inhalant vapors to a user gradually over time to promote safe sleep and relieve respiratory ailments and breathing difficulties that otherwise inhibit restful sleep. Made in a substantially rectangular configuration conforming to the shape of a standard sleeping pillow, the pillow covering is sized to fit about and across the pillow surfaces with openings at one or both ends for placement upon the pillow and is preferably intended for use beneath a standard pillow case. Release of the inhalant vapors may be activated by exposure to normal ambient conditions at the time of placement of the pillow covering or through a physical manipulation by the user just prior to placement or thereafter.

For a better understanding of these and other aspects of the present invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like reference numerals and character designate like parts throughout the figures thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the present invention, references in the detailed description set forth below shall be made to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective side view of the therapeutic sleep aid shown in disposed in place for operational use in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 a is a perspective side view of one form of the present therapeutic sleep aid shown apart from the operational placement seen in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 2 b is a similar perspective side view of an alternate form of the present therapeutic sleep aid shown apart from the operational placement seen in FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following serves to describe a preferred embodiment of the present invention and the best presently contemplated mode of its production and practice. This description is further made for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention but should not be taken in a limiting sense, the scope of the invention being best determined by reference to the appended claims.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a therapeutic sleep aid, generally designated 10, is shown set in place over top a standard bed pillow 12 and within a standard pillow case 14. The present therapeutic sleep aid 10 comprises a specially fabricated pillow covering 16 made of a woven fabric material F that is further infused with a predetermined concentration of one or more aromatic medications M stored within the fabric and designed upon activation to release a gradual level of associated inhalant vapors over a normal period of sleep time. The medications M that are infused or woven into the fabric F are specially formulated and incorporated using conventional technology for fragrance finishing of textiles, such as that of microencapsulation, known to provide a means of packaging, separating and storing solid and liquid materials within a woven fabric on a microscopic scale for later release under controlled conditions. In the present therapeutic sleep aid 10, the aromatic medications M used and infused into the fabric material F are preferably those active ingredients proven to assist in opening respiratory passages to facilitate unencumbered breathing and include such actives as camphor, eucalyptus and menthol. Other active ingredients used in aromatherapy treatments and known to have a therapeutic effect on human subjects may also be incorporated and infused into the fabric material of the pillow covering 16 in accordance with the present invention. It should be noted and understood that the present therapeutic sleep aid 10 may be used by adults as well as children and the concentrations of the aromatic medications M within the fabric material F of the pillow covering 16 and resulting level of release of the associated inhalant vapors should be adjusted accordingly.

Referring now to FIGS. 2 a and 2 b in conjunction with FIG. 1, the therapeutic pillow covering 16 is generally made rectangular in configuration to accommodate and conform to the natural rectangular shape of the standard bed pillow 12. Alternate sizes and shapes of the therapeutic pillow covering 16 may be employed to accommodate the variations in the sizes and shapes of the bed pillows 12 typically available for use on conventional bed sizes as well as to accommodate specially designed sleeping pillows. The pillow covering 16 is sized to fit over and surround the extended surfaces of the bed pillow 12 and is characteristically soft and supple in its fabric form and so that the overlying pillow covering may comply with and conform to the underlying pillow surfaces. As seen in FIG. 2 a, the pillow covering 16 of the present therapeutic sleep aid 10 may be constructed having an open end 16 a opposite to a closed end 16 b in a form similarly to a conventional pillow case. Alternatively as seen in FIG. 2 b, the pillow covering 16 may further be constructed having open ends 16 a on both sides so as to be sleeve-like in form and thus be applied over top of the underlying bed pillow 12 from either end.

Activation of the aromatic medications M in the fabric material F and consequent time release of the associated inhalant vapors from the therapeutic pillow covering 16 may be initiated by an exposure of the pillow covering to normal ambient conditions at the time of its use and application just prior to sleep. Alternatively to an ambient exposure of the pillow covering 16, activation of the aromatic medications M may be triggered by a physical manipulation of the pillow covering 16 at the time of its use, such as by manual kneading or pressing the pillow covering prior to its placement or thereafter to start the time release of inhalant vapors. The time release period for the delivery of the inhalant vapors from the pillow covering 16 preferably accommodates and covers a normal period of sleep time, typically between about 8 to 10 hours, but can be varied based on the circumstances and environment of the intended usage of the therapeutic sleep aid 10.

Therefore, it is apparent that the described invention provides an improved therapeutic sleep aid for use by an individual to promote comfortable and uninterrupted sleep. More particularly, the disclosed invention provides an improved therapeutic sleep aid that promotes safe sleep and relieves common respiratory ailments and breathing difficulties like those associated with colds, flu and seasonal allergies that otherwise inhibit restful sleep in both children and adults. The disclosed pillow covering further provides a therapeutic sleep aid that affords optimal comfort and soothing relief from common respiratory ailments that normally interrupt sleep and one that is safe and effective for use by both children and adults. In addition, the described pillow covering is economical to manufacture, safe and easy to use in homes, hospitals and other medical facilities, and is reliable and comfortable in its performance.

Obviously, other embodiments and modifications of the present invention will readily come to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing description and drawings. Alternate embodiments of different shapes and sizes, as well as substitution of known materials or those materials which may be developed at a future time to perform the same function as the present described embodiment are therefore considered to be part of the present invention. Furthermore, certain modifications to the described embodiment that serve to benefit its usage are within the scope of the present invention. Accordingly, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the particular embodiment described, but rather is intended to cover modifications within the spirit and scope of the present invention as expressed in the appended claims. 

1. A therapeutic sleep aid for use in connection with a bed pillow, comprising: a pillow covering member made of fabric material and infused with a determined concentration of an aromatic medication formulated and set to release associated inhalant vapors to a user gradually over a period of time to promote safe and uninterrupted sleep.
 2. A therapeutic sleep aid according to claim 1, wherein said pillow covering member is sized and shaped to fit about and conform to the bed pillow.
 3. A therapeutic sleep aid according to claim 2, wherein said pillow covering member is substantially rectangular in form and constructed having one open end for insertion and removal of the bed pillow.
 4. A therapeutic sleep aid according to claim 2, wherein said pillow covering member is constructed in a sleeve-like form.
 5. A therapeutic sleep aid according to claim 1, wherein the aromatic medication includes active ingredients of the type proven to assist in opening respiratory passages for the facilitation of unencumbered breathing.
 6. A therapeutic sleep aid according to claim 5, wherein the active ingredients include those of camphor, eucalyptus and menthol.
 7. A therapeutic sleep aid according to claim 1, wherein the period of time for the release of the inhalant vapors is between about 8 to 10 hours. 